I must admit that not long ago, I viewed professional wrestling as the man’s soap opera. I thought everything about it was ridiculous. My 12 yr old daughter and my best friend are huge fans, I mean like epic. Hell, even my editor admitted she was a fan of the old school stuff. Not gonna lie, I had a very difficult time figuring out why. It all just seemed so cheesy. I knew I wanted to write about it, but my intentions were to make fun of it. Ridicule it with my fabulous wit and slam the heck out of it. I had no idea I would actually become somewhat of a fan. Don’t get me wrong, I am not going to wear a John Cena T-shirt, or follow the storylines completely, but I am definitely entertained when I watch now. I think it’s only fair to give credit to the man who converted me. Chris Jericho.

Jericho won me over, with his over the top arrogance. That guy makes me belly laugh. He is a genius at provoking the fans to hate him. I find it truly entertaining to hear his banter and watch him work the crowd. So although everyone else might despise the guy, I think he’s brilliant. I cannot tell you the name of every wrestler, or tell you their storyline, but I am definitely learning. After attending No Way Out in Seattle, I should tell you that I am unable to write up a re-cap of the events that took place. Why? I was too busy trying to stay out of the way of the camera crew and figure out the settings on my camera. It definitely put my skills to the test and was a welcome challenge.

It was nothing like shooting a concert.

I was really amazed at how fiercely passionate the fans are. This was definitely like being at a concert. They had their signs, T-shirts, championship belts and were active participants at the event. Families brought their kids, a lot of which were wearing Rey Mysterio masks, and enjoyed the show together. WWE definitely breaks all barriers when it comes down to their fans. Every age group, male and female, rich, poor, rockers, preps, jocks, rednecks, you name it, they were there. That’s impressive!

The one thing that worries and concerns me, is the injury aspect. I used to think they always faked it. But after being up close and personal, I witnessed that there was no faking a bloody gash on your head. That’s what happened to Randy Orton. I even zoomed in as close as I could to see if it was fake blood. It was not. I did, however, witness a lot of exaggerated injuries, where the wrestlers really played up getting hit. My concern is this, how do they know when someone is truly injured? Is there a special safe word they use? After hearing about one wrestler actually falling to his death in the ring, and the fans not realizing it was real, I wonder how they do it? The death and injury rate of professional wrestlers are alarmingly high. I can only imagine the toll their career takes on their bodies. Anyone who thinks it’s all show, should attend an event. A lot of those maneuvers have got to hurt like hell.

So between having to act, perform, endure the physical strain, the non-stop touring and the dedication to their fans, WWE has earned my respect. I may not be a “super-fan”, but a fan, nonetheless. The only thing that I did not like was the unexpected BOOMS from the pyro. I jumped out of my skin every single time, much to the amusement of the WWE crew around me. A huge thank you to Joe for allowing me to cover this event, it was an experience I will not soon forget. I shall conclude with a big ole “WHOOOOOOOOOOooooooo!!!”, while waving my hand in front of my face, because I now know what that means. Damn, I’m cool , right? Ok maybe not just yet, but I’m getting there.